How to Grow Curiosity
Curiosity is the capacity to wonder without needing to solve.
It affects how we learn, how we navigate change, how we solve problems, and how we connect with ourselves and others.
For most adults — especially physicians — curiosity gets pushed aside.
By pressure. By productivity. By perfectionism.
By the feeling that we should already know the answer.
Curiosity does not grow under pressure. It grows in the right conditions.
Curiosity is not something you force.
Curiosity is something we can cultivate.
Something we practice.
It is heavily influenced by context.
Where we are. Who we're with. The level of time pressure.
How regulated our nervous systems are.
How safe we feel.
Whether curiosity is available depends on a set of conditions — physical, emotional, and environmental.
What if you got curious about curiosity?
Who are you usually with when you feel curious? What are you doing?
Where are you? Why does that setting help?
How do you know curiosity is present?
For me, I'm with friends, in nature, or practicing or teaching yoga.
Early morning. Sunny. Rested.
I am not curious when I'm tired.
I have one specific practice — I read my journal on airplanes. It's a bubble. No one can reach me. I don't know anyone around me.
It gives me a chance to look at my life. I put my coaching notes in there, too.
Many of the things I've written down, I have moved beyond. This sparks curiosity about what I want next.
Curiosity is physical, not just intellectual.
For me, it is excitement. Aliveness. Engaged. Awake.
A kind of urgency — but the good kind.
The kind where I don't want to be distracted because I am so engaged.
I sit up taller. My breath gets deeper. There's flow. Tingly. Spacious.
For others, curiosity feels like a gentle absence of tension.
The words don't matter.
What matters is knowing what curiosity feels like in your body, so you can recognize when it's present and notice what helped it arrive.
What Shuts Curiosity Down
Urgency from the outside. Over-scheduling. Perfectionism. Feeling judged.
The fear of getting it wrong. Wanting an immediate outcome. Thinking there is a right way and a wrong way.
Being tired.
Environments that feel rigid, claustrophobic, or performative.
Sound familiar?
This is the climate of modern medicine. The clinic environment. A set amount of time per patient. Running late.
We are asked to tap into curiosity as healers — within constraints designed to suppress it.
When you feel rushed, judged, and pressured to be efficient, your scope narrows. Spaciousness disappears. Curiosity cramps.
Environments That Grow Curiosity
Nature. Quiet. Beauty. Color.
Less pressure. Less noise. A slower pace.
Permission for imperfection.
Unconditionally supportive community.
Safety — nervous system safety.
This is the opposite of most healthcare environments. But you can bring elements in. An open window. Fresh air. Art. Photos of people you love. A picture of a place that grounds you.
These small choices change your availability for curiosity.
Clarity, creativity, and curiosity show up when there is more room.
Retreats are a real-world example of the causes and conditions of curiosity.
Space. Nature. Safety. Slower pace. Permission for imperfection. A community that supports exploration.
When you focus on what you're good at and the conditions that help you grow, curiosity follows. Energy follows.
Problems get solved without you forcing them — because you're coming from interest, not deficit.
This is the design behind Pause and Presence Retreats: Connect in Nature and the Women Physician Retreats in Nicasio.
Less pressure. More spaciousness. Strengths-based rather than fix-and-solve.
Small Ways to Practice Curiosity this week
Schedule white space the way you'd schedule a doctor's appointment.
Reduce time pressure where you can.
Spend time in nature.
Choose a community that supports exploration.
Let things be imperfect.
Ask better questions. What am I curious about? — rather than what should I do, or what do others want me to do?
Notice what gives you energy.
Spend time with people who widen your thinking.
Try a small creative experiment.
Give yourself permission to leave something unfinished.
Curiosity grows through repeated conditions. Not one big breakthrough.
What conditions help curiosity grow for you?
What shuts it down most quickly?
Where do you feel more open and more creative?
Where might less pressure help more curiosity show up?
Curiosity is not random.
When you understand the conditions that support it, you can create more of them. And more of it.
Retreats and physician coaching are both environments that help you slow down, notice what's happening, and reconnect with curiosity, clarity, creativity, and connection.
Whether you join me for coaching or a retreat or not, I encourage you to get curious about curiosity.
Notice what helps it grow. Notice what gets in the way. Practice it.
What you practice grows.
If you're ready to step into a space designed for this, book a coaching consult.
This post was adapted from Episode 310 of the Healing Medicine Podcast.